Sunday, September 23, 2007

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor

Some of you may have recently read the post I had about the author, Barbara O'Connor, who wrote about reading my blog on her own blog. Oddly enough I had just checked out her book How to Steal a Dog from my local library. I waited the entire summer to get my hands on that book! It was ordered in June, but did not surface until about a week ago.
Now, I promise I am not saying this just because Ms. O'Connor may read this blog, but the book was perfect! I am always looking for books that are just right for a fifth grader and this is one of them. The moral of this story can be summed up in this line from book, "I guess bad times can make a person do bad things, huh?" To give you an idea of what those bad things are, listen to this perfect grabber lead "The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car.
The story has wonderful messages about morality and it takes a daring look at homelessness, a topic not often talked about in children's literature. I just know there is a kid out there, in your room, in your life, in your mind, who has felt hopeless and helpless and possibly done something out of the ordinary to deal with this pain. The story also has the main character, Georgina, writing in a notebook as well. HOW AWESOME?!
The book is a quick read with an easy to follow, but not overly predictable plot. The vocabulary is not over-done for a read aloud for the fourth and fifth grade crowd. Even though the idea of stealing a dog isn't exactly moral, I would say any fifth grade student could see through that to the real point of the story.
I will be asking my school librarian to get this book on our bookshelves in a hurry. I just know as soon as I show to my students, they are going to be racing to the shelves!

7 comments:

Barbara O'Connor said...

Megan: I'm so glad you liked HOW TO STEAL A DOG. The opinion of teachers is invaluable to me - y'all are the ones who know the kids I write for and can best judge how they will react to a particular book.

Thank you for sharing this review!

All best,
Barbara

Anonymous said...

Dear Barbara,

My 4th grade class at Westview Elementary in Champaign, IL is reading "How to Steal a Dog" right now! I will quote Riley by saying "The book is really great so far." Kelsey says, "It is great to imagine what it would be like to live in a car like Georgina." Julia says, "The book is also funny."
We are about halfway through the book and we can't wait to see how it ends. We will post another comment when we are done and let you know what we think!

Thank You!
Ms. Setser's class

Barbara O'Connor said...

Dear Ms. Setser: Ms. Germano showed me your comment on her blog and I was thrilled to hear from you. It's always rewarding to learn what readers are thinking about my books. Thank you for posting the comments.

I have a new book coming out right this minute (September 15 is the official date). It's called The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis. I hope some of your students will have a chance to read it.

Thanks again for writing!
Barbara O'Connor

Anonymous said...

Uhmmm is that the real barbara o'connor ???/ and ♥ the book ( love ) and im trying to read the book online freee hehehe

Megan Germano said...

Yes, that is the REAL Barbara O'Connor! Isn't it cool!!!!

Anonymous said...

Dear Barbara,

This is an amazing book so far Barbara. Im 10 years old and I am using this book for a book report. Ive got up to the second chapter, but its still REALLY and truly amazing!

From a student

Anonymous said...

i LOVE the book very interesting, im on chapter 7 and i cant stop redaing during my social studies class i picked a book and thought hmm this might be a good book and i was right i think its the best book i ever read!!! thanks for writing the book